Mountain Stage
is a two-hour music radio show distributed worldwide by National Public Radio (NPR) and the Voice of America's satellite radio service. Hosted by Larry Groce, the program showcases very diverse music, from the traditional to modern. It is taped on Sundays before a live audience, usually at the Cultural Center Theater or the Clay Center in Charleston, West Virginia, but frequently travels to other venues elsewhere in the United States and Canada.
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MOUNTAIN STAGE TICKETS
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History
Created by Andy Ridenour and Francis Fisher, Mountain Stage originally aired in 1983, so celebrated its 25th anniversary in December 2008. Ridenour continues to serve as
Executive Producer. Consistently, 26 two-hour episodes are produced each year. Most are recorded at the Cultural Center Theater in Charleston, West Virginia; however, the show has traveled to
New York City,
Boston,
Glenside, Pennsylvania,
Ann Arbor, Michigan,
Ashland, Kentucky,
Athens, Georgia, and
Bristol, Tennessee/Virginia.
Between 2001-2003, Mountain Stage taped thirty-nine episodes of a nationally syndicated television series on
PBS. In 2007, an additional series of nine, one-hour specials, filmed in
high-definition, were also televised on PBS.
Format
The show consistently begins with its theme, "Simple Song", written and performed by
host Larry Groce. Groce, who also serves as
artistic director, believes that all music is related, so the program showcases very diverse music, from the traditional to the brand new, including
roots music to
jazz. Usually, four or five musical guests will appear on any given show.
Over the years, the show has featured such international luminaries as
Phish,
Barenaked Ladies, Galactic,
Bruce Hornsby, the Derek Trucks Band, Chris Thile, Bell X-1, Judy Collins,
They Might Be Giants,
Norah Jones, Hubert Sumlin & Pinetop Perkins, Charles Brown,
Martina McBride, Little Big Town, Amos Lee,
Joan Baez, Jakob Dylan and
Regina Spektor, as well as over a hundred
West Virginia artists.
Distribution
Several albums compiling live performances from the Mountain Stage series have also been released on
Blue Plate Records, a division of
Oh Boy! Records, and are still available on
Amazon.com.
In 2008, NPR signed an exclusive on-line distribution deal with Mountain Stage and will post individual sets by guest artists each weekday. These sets will include songs edited from the radio show.